Lions and Tigers and Bears (11 page)

Chapter One

Natunde Valley Nature Preserve

Present Day

Rage swept through Grant, as did stomach-twisting nausea, when he saw the full extent of the wildebeest’s fatal injuries. He carefully pushed aside the tarp Manu had wrapped the calf in upon discovering its grisly remains on his rounds through the preserve. The exam table, although to its full height, was just low enough to require Grant to either stoop or sit on a stool during exams. This time, he chose to stoop, knowing there would be no need for full mobility since the poor calf was dead.

“Those goddamned soldiers used this baby for target practice, didn’t they?” Manu asked, his rage clearly matching Grant’s.

“It looks that way.”

“You’re the vet. Did they, or didn’t they? Was there any possible justification for this?” He waved a hand at the ragged carcass.

Grant looked up, taking a moment to breathe deeply in hopes of controlling his emotions. “Could there ever be justification for this? The bullets are large caliber, probably from a machine gun. They didn’t kill it for food, because there isn’t enough left to salvage anything. Whoever did this was sadistic.”

“I’d like to get my hands on them.”

The disturbing glint in his friend’s eyes made Grant swallow. He closed his eyes for a second, focusing on remaining in control. Any lapse could lead to disaster. The beast was always threatening to break through his veneer of humanity with the slightest provocation. “I share your sentiments, Manu.” The cool calm in his voice helped him rein in the anger, and the urge to shift gradually faded.

“They’re tearing our country apart. Is it not enough to force Mekimban men into their militia, to rape the women, and leave countless children orphaned?” He shook his head, his disgust clear. “Are there not enough human targets to satisfy them? Now they come onto our protected lands to kill this baby.”

“Considering the other atrocities the army commits daily against humans, this is nothing for them, Manu.” Grant covered the calf with the tarp again, knowing there was no further need for examination. It hadn’t died from disease or normal injury, so he had no need to monitor the herd for health issues.

“Animals,” Manu muttered.

“No,” Grant said in a soft voice. “Animals act on instinct. When they kill, it is not for pleasure.” His nature gave him a unique perspective on the animal condition.

Manu sighed. “True, my friend. To call those cretins animals is to insult every creature living on this preserve.”

When the silence lengthened, Grant stood up straight, moving to the drawer where he kept his nonmedical paraphernalia to retrieve a roll of tape. Working without speaking, the two of them wrapped the wildebeest in the tarp and taped it closed. Later that night, one of the rangers would see to its cremation. In the interim, they carried the body behind the clinic, leaving it wrapped tightly to protect the corpse from scavengers before it could be disposed of.

After Manu preceded him, Grant shut the door to the freezer and leaned against it. The work of moving the calf hadn’t been exhausting. It was the emotional torment associated with the situation that left him with a sensation of full-body fatigue.

It took a second, but he managed to stand up straight and follow Manu back into the exam room of the clinic. He expected the director of the preserve to keep going, so it was with surprise that Grant watched him eyeing the room.

Appearing uncomfortable, Manu cleared his throat. “You have enough space here, don’t you?”

He nodded. “Most of the time, the other table is free, as you know.” To Grant’s relief, most of the animals on the preserve rarely required transport to the clinic itself. Ninety percent of the time, he took a vehicle out whenever there was an injured or ill animal.

“Good, that’s good.” Manu stroked his goatee, his fingers rustling the crisp curls. “I have done something spontaneously, Grant. I should have discussed it with you first, but I acted without thought.”

His eyebrow quirked. “I work for you, Manu. Why would you need to consult me?”

“Because the clinic is your domain, and I have offered its resources to another.”

Grant frowned. “You’re hiring a second vet?” That made no sense. There were days when he himself had little to do on the medical side of things and spent his time like the rangers, patrolling the preserve for poachers and other problems.

“No. Do you know the clinic two miles from here? Dr. Senghor runs it.”

“I know of her.”

“The fighting is much too close to her clinic now. She needed a place to bring her practice so she could continue seeing patients.” Manu ducked his head, looking like an embarrassed child. “I offered her space here at the clinic.”

Grant inclined his head. “That was a logical thing to do.”

Manu appeared relieved. “I had hoped you would not mind.” He stroked his goatee. “I don’t know how I ended up making the offer when I ran into her at the store in Natunde.”

“It’s fine.” Grant’s voice emerged steadily, hiding his anxiety. The clinic was his haven, where he could retreat from stimuli that might trigger a transformation. With the doctor infringing on his space, he wouldn’t have anywhere he could withdraw to. But Manu didn’t know how important his sanctuary was to him, and it was too late to protest. Besides, how could he, in good conscience? The people Dr. Senghor helped were more important than infringement on his private refuge.

A grin split Manu’s face, revealing shining teeth. “I am happy to hear that, my friend, because Dr. Senghor will be here within the hour.”

Biting back a groan, Grant managed to nod again, while wondering what tasks he could undertake to keep himself away from the doctor. He had to establish a routine that would minimize time spent with her, lest he accidentally reveal the nature of the beast trapped within.

Zinsa engaged the parking brake and shut off the roaring engine of the old truck she had used to convey supplies and patients from her clinic to the makeshift site at the nature preserve. The door creaked when she opened it, and the muggy air settled on her like a shroud. During the drive over bumpy terrain, having the window down had given the illusion of cool air circulating, but she couldn’t fool herself any longer. Even the buzzing flies seemed lethargic.

She slid from the truck, letting gravity carry her to the ground. As always, she made a mental note to install a step on the truck, but knew she probably never would. The value of the hulk of metal didn’t warrant the investment. Besides, she thought with a small grin, the weight of the addition might destabilize the rusty bolts holding together the wreck on wheels.

The door groaned again when she slammed it, the window vibrating in the frame. Zinsa ignored the racket while simultaneously wondering how anyone unaccustomed to the truck could take no notice of all the noise. She had expected someone at the preserve’s headquarters to come out to investigate, but as the dust settled, no one stepped out of the complex of wooden buildings that formed the offices and sleeping quarters of the employees.

“Hello?” she called. Receiving no reply, she moved away from the truck toward the entrance of the clinic, hoping to find someone available to help unload. She and the patients had managed to pack up everything from the clinic, but most were ill and worn out from the trip. It wasn’t advisable to have the older patients lifting heavy boxes, which left only her, but she wasn’t looking forward to doing all the work alone.

Stepping into the clinic caused a shiver to race down her spine. Not from the air circulated by multiple fans, but from the sight through the open office door of a man hunched over his desk, logging an entry into a ledger. His blond hair was a perfect foil for his dark tan, and the lightly curling locks made her fingers itch to run through them.

Surprised by her reaction, Zinsa walked to the doorway, composing her expression before clearing her throat. He jerked at the sound, and she said, “Sorry if I startled you, Dr. Hayden. I’m Zinsa Senghor. Manu might have mentioned…”

He nodded. Beyond a quicksilver flash of some inscrutable emotion in his green eyes, his expression was bland. “Yes. Would you like a tour?”

Zinsa walked closer to him, stopping before a large fan to pull her sticky tank top away from her skin, letting the artificial breeze waft over her. She sighed with contentment at the sensation, barely forcing herself to turn away to answer the vet. “Sure, but I need to get the patients in first, along with supplies. Care to give me a hand?”

After a brief hesitation, he nodded. “Of course.” His chair squeaked when he pushed away from the basic desk.

Her eyes widened as he stood up straight. He was the tallest man she had ever seen. Surely he stood at least six-and-a-half feet. With his height, it wouldn’t have been unwarranted to expect him to be bulging with muscles, but he had a trim physique. This was a man unafraid of physical labor, but not one who wasted hours honing his body to its maximum potential. Her mouth watered as he walked toward her and she swallowed, wishing he didn’t have the kind of frame she found appealing.

Most of all, she wished she didn’t feel this sensation that made her tingle, as if she had been struck by lightning. Was it the family gift—or curse, depending on how one looked at it? Was she finally experiencing the thing her father had described, had promised she would find someday? After thirty-two years, she had assumed it would never happen to her. It couldn’t be happening now. With setting up a makeshift practice and seeing to her patients here instead of at her own clinic, she didn’t have time for distractions.

At least, not right away, she thought with a mischievous grin as she turned to lead the way to her truck. Give her a couple of days, and he would be fair game. She would discover if what she felt was just instant attraction or something more.

Grant paused in his assigned task of unloading a cumbersome box from the back of the truck to watch Zinsa assist her last elderly patient down. He was probably going to Hell for lusting after her while she performed the altruistic task of straightening the old woman’s housedress and bandana, before tucking an arm around the birdlike frame to lead her inside the clinic. He should be overwhelmed with sympathy for the old woman, not noticing the way the sweaty gray shirt clung to Zinsa’s full breasts or the way her hips shimmied as she walked with unconscious feminine grace.

Mouth dry, Grant managed to tear his eyes from her form as she disappeared into the clinic, bringing his attention back to the task of balancing the large box and carrying it inside. Three of the rangers, who mysteriously had nothing to do, had also volunteered their services for unloading and unpacking. He resented the way their eyes followed the doctor, although he had no right to, when his were equally glued to her every move.

At the pace they were progressing, with the men unloading while Zinsa saw to assisting each of her four patients with getting settled, they would have her set up in no time. The thought terrified Grant. The fiery, instant attraction he’d experienced upon shaking her hand alarmed him. He couldn’t afford to lose control. Why did she have to be so tempting?

“Are you bonding with that box, Dr. Hayden?” Her crisp English accent lent the teasing words an air of seriousness she probably hadn’t meant to impart, judging from the grin on her face.

Grant jerked out of his reverie, his face burning with the heat of embarrassment. Mumbling something unintelligible, he brushed past her where she leaned against the door, completely aware of the heat of her body and the appealing scent underlying the odor of perspiration. It wasn’t perfume catching his attention. Just her womanly, musky scent that made him salivate.

As quickly as he could, he dumped the box into the area Zinsa would be using and fled to his office, closing the door. Her smell lingered in his nose, or maybe just his memory, and he snorted, trying to clear it.

Realizing he was leaning against the door, his cock throbbing in time with his rapidly beating heart, getting aroused just by the scent of the doctor, he cursed his foolishness and strode to his desk, dropping into the rickety wooden chair. It squeaked under the force of his weight, but held as it always did.

Casting a brooding glare to where Zinsa was now setting up her makeshift clinic, Grant searched for some other thought to occupy his mind. He could be doing inventory in preparation for his monthly order, or he could take the Land Rover out to observe the herds. Many babies would be coming in the next few weeks, and he liked to have an accurate headcount for each of the different herds.

He could be doing any number of things except the one thing he wanted to do, which was pin the good doctor against the wall, bury his nose into the valley between her breasts and take in the scent of her.

At times like this, there was no denying the animal half of his nature, the beast always tenuously held in check. Reacting so violently to a woman was a new experience, but it had to be related to his animal instincts. True, it had been a while since he had made love to a woman, but being horny didn’t explain the magnetic pull Zinsa had on him. If only he could rid himself of the beast, he could squash this inconvenient attraction. Since that was impossible, he would just have to avoid her as much as he could.

He found his plan was going to be difficult when he finally left his office a few hours later. He had spent the rest of the afternoon inside catching up on paperwork and reading a novel, all while trying to block out thoughts of how Zinsa might look stripped of her clinging tank top and khaki shorts.